1 Corinthians 11: What Head Covering Has to Do With God’s Order

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The Order of God

Before Paul explains head covering, he establishes the order behind it.

1 Corinthians 11:1–3

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.”

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”

Paul is reminding the Corinthians to follow the instructions he delivered to them. Then he gives the order:

God → Christ → man → woman

This isn’t about one being more valuable than another. Paul is establishing order and headship.

He then uses Christ’s relationship to the Father as part of the example.

Philippians 2:8

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Christ humbled Himself and became obedient to the Father.

John 14:28

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”

Christ operated within the order of the Father.

The point here isn’t to settle the Trinity question. That’s a separate discussion. The point is the order Paul is establishing before he gets into head covering.

The Order Between Christ, Man, and Woman

Paul says Christ is the head of every man, and Christ is also the head of the church.

Ephesians 1:21–22

Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:”

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.”

Christ is above every authority, and He is the head of the church. The church is therefore subject to Christ. It isn’t free to simply do whatever it wants.

The same order applies to the relationship between man and woman.

Ephesians 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”

Being the head isn’t about abusing or controlling a woman. It comes with responsibility to lead, protect, provide, care for, and love her.

Paul compares the husband’s role to Christ’s relationship with the church.

This also shows that the order between man and woman isn’t something Paul invented because of Corinthian culture. The same pattern goes back to Genesis.

Genesis 3:16

And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

This was established from the beginning. Paul is teaching within an order that Scripture had already established.

Why Does Head Covering Matter?

1 Corinthians 11:4

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.”

Paul isn’t only talking about making predictions when he says “praying or prophesying.”

1 Chronicles 25:1–3 (KJV)

1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

2 Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph: which prophesied according to the order of the king.

3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.

It literally connects prophesying with:

“to give thanks and to praise the LORD.”

So when Paul says:

every man praying or prophesying”

We shouldn’t automatically reduce prophesying to “making a prediction.” The Old Testament gives us examples of prophesying taking place alongside praise, music, thanksgiving, and worship.

Coming together in an acts of worship is a form of prophesying.

The head covering had a meaning. It represented being under another person’s visible authority.

So for a man, covering his head while praying or prophesying dishonored his head because man is the head in the earthly order God established.

Paul then gives the opposite instruction for women.

1 Corinthians 11:5

But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”

The same principle is applied to the woman.

Her head is the man, so coming into worship with her head uncovered was a dishonor to that order.

And notice something important:

Paul says “every woman,” not just married women.

So the instruction is not limited to whether a woman currently has a husband. It is connected to God’s order between man and woman.

The Hair Is Not the Head Covering

Some people read verse 15 and say, “See? Her hair is the covering, so she doesn’t need anything else.”

But look at what Paul says.

1 Corinthians 11:5–6 (KJV)

5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

Here’s the problem with saying hair = the covering.

The woman already has hair.

Yet Paul says she can be “uncovered” and then compares her to a woman who is “shaven.”

So he’s talking about two different things:

• She has hair.
• But her head can still be uncovered.
• Then Paul says if she refuses to be covered, she might as well be shorn.

Now look at the verse people use to argue that the hair is the covering.

1 Corinthians 11:15 (KJV)

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

Yes, Paul calls her hair “a covering.”

But that doesn’t automatically mean the hair is the same covering Paul told her to put on while praying.

Think about the flow:

Verse 5: Her head can be uncovered even though she has hair.

Verse 6: If she won’t be covered, Paul says she might as well be shaven.

Verse 15: Her hair is given to her for a covering.

So there are two coverings being talked about:

1. Her natural hair — something God gave her.
2. The covering Paul is talking about when she prays or prophesies.

That’s why verse 15 shouldn’t just be used to erase verses 5–6.

Why Shaving the Head Matters

Deuteronomy gives an example where a woman’s shaved head was connected with mourning and a change in her former position:

Deuteronomy 21:10–13

When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month…”

The shaved head had a clear meaning. It wasn’t simply about a woman’s normal hairstyle.

That helps us understand why Paul could use being shaven as a shameful comparison to being uncovered.

The Man Is the Image and Glory of God

1 Corinthians 11:7

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.”

Now Paul gives another reason why the man shouldn’t cover his head.

The man is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man.

That doesn’t mean the woman isn’t made in God’s image. She absolutely is.

Genesis 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Notice it says “let them have dominion.”

Man and woman were both made in God’s image, and both were given dominion over the earth.

But Paul is showing that there is still an order within that relationship.

Genesis 3:16

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

So both have the image of God, but God still gave the man a position of headship over the woman.

And this goes back even further than Genesis 3.

The woman came from the man.

The Woman Came From the Man

Paul gives another reason for the order.

1 Corinthians 11:8

For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.”

Go back to creation.

Man came first. Woman came from the man.

And that’s important because this order existed before marriage was even a thing.

Adam wasn’t married when God first created him. Eve wasn’t created first and then placed under Adam because they got married.

The order was already there in creation itself.

That’s why this can’t just be explained away as some old marriage custom or culture.

Genesis 2:23

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Look at what Adam says.

“She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

So the woman gets her nature from man because she was taken from man.

She even gets her name from man.

And that’s exactly what Paul is going back to.

The woman came from the man, and she was created for the man. That’s why Paul keeps pointing back to creation when explaining why the man is the head.

1 Corinthians 11:9

Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”

This is Paul’s second argument.

First, the woman came from the man.

Second, the woman was created for the man.

Genesis 2:18

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

God saw that man was alone and made the woman as his help and companion.

Then God actually takes from the man to make the woman.

Genesis 2:21

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;”

Genesis 2:22

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

Notice the direction.

The woman wasn’t created first and then the man was brought to her.

The woman was taken from the man and brought to the man.

That’s the creation order Paul is using.

And again, this isn’t saying women are less valuable to God. Both man and woman are made in God’s image.

The point is the position God established between them.

That’s why Paul can say:

The man is the head of the woman.

And that’s why the head covering isn’t just about whether somebody is married. The order existed before Adam even had a wife.

Power on Her Head

Then Paul gives another reason for the woman’s covering.

1 Corinthians 11:10

For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

When Paul says “power on her head,” he’s talking about the head covering.

The covering represents authority and submission to the order God established.

Think about a crown.

A crown represents authority and position. It tells you something about the person’s place.

The covering works as a sign of the woman’s position in the order Paul just explained:

God → Christ → man → woman.

So Paul isn’t saying, “Cover your head because you’re powerless.”

He’s saying the covering is a sign that you recognize God’s order.

But then Paul adds something else:

“because of the angels.”

And that’s where the next question comes in:

What exactly does Paul mean by “because of the angels”?

Because of the Angels

1 Timothy 5:21

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”

Notice who Paul puts together here:

God. Christ. The elect angels.

That shows the angels are present and involved in what happens among believers. They are not just some random idea Paul throws in.

Luke 15:10

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

The angels are aware of what happens on earth. They know when someone repents.

So when Paul says the woman should have “power on her head because of the angels,” the point is connected to the fact that the angels are watching and are present around the things of God.

The covering is a sign of authority and submission to God’s order.

It’s basically saying:

“I recognize the order God established.”

There Is a Balance

Then Paul makes sure nobody takes this too far.

1 Corinthians 11:11

Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”

So don’t take the order and turn it into, “Men don’t need women.”

That’s not what Paul is saying.

Man came first and woman came from man, but now every man comes through a woman.

A man doesn’t enter this world without a woman carrying and giving birth to him.

1 Corinthians 11:12

For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.”

That’s the balance.

Woman came from man.
Man comes through woman.
But both ultimately come from God.

So neither side gets to brag over the other.

God is the original designer of the whole thing.

Does This Look Right?

Paul then puts the question back on them.

1 Corinthians 11:13

Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?”

Basically, look at it for yourself.

Does it fit? Does it look right for a woman to come before God uncovered?

Paul is still dealing with the same idea of distinction between the man and the woman.

Then he uses nature as another argument.

1 Corinthians 11:14

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”

Now this brings up an obvious question:

What does Paul mean by “nature”?

Because you can immediately think of men in Scripture who had long hair.

Samson had long hair. Absalom had long hair.

So Paul obviously isn’t saying every single man with long hair is automatically sinful.

The question is what Paul means when he says “nature itself teach you.”

What Does Paul Mean by “Nature”?

Paul says:

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” — 1 Corinthians 11:14

At first, this can sound confusing.

What about Samson? He had long hair because of his Nazarite vow. Absalom also had long hair. So is Paul saying that any man with long hair is automatically wrong?

Not exactly.

The point is the normal distinction between male and female appearance. Paul is talking about a man allowing his hair to grow in a way that makes him look feminine.

A Nazarite was an exception because his long hair had a specific purpose connected to his vow. It wasn’t about trying to look like a woman.

Paul is using that natural distinction to support the larger point he has been making throughout the chapter: God created an order between man and woman, and that order should be reflected outwardly.

So the argument isn’t:

Every man with long hair is automatically sinful.”

The argument is about long hair being used in a way that goes against the normal distinction between male and female.

And that leads into Paul’s next point about the woman’s hair.

1. Nature Shows the Difference

1 Corinthians 11:15

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

• A woman’s long hair is a natural covering God gave her.
• A man’s natural hair is normally shorter.
• The difference in hair points to the difference between men and women.
• The long hair shows that a woman is naturally designed with covering in mind.
• But her natural hair does not replace the head covering Paul talked about earlier.
• Verse 5 already showed that a woman can have hair and still have her head uncovered.
• So her hair being a covering does not mean she has no need for the physical covering Paul is talking about.

Isaiah 3:16–17

16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

17 Therefore the Lord will discover the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

• The point being made is that the hair and head were connected with a woman’s glory and dignity.
• When God judged the daughters of Zion, part of that judgment was removing that glory.
• So having the head covered is being connected with honor, dignity, and God’s order.

2. The Order Doesn’t Change

Paul has already built the order:

God → Christ → man → woman

• Christ is the head of man.
• Man is the head of woman.
• The woman covering her head represents her accepting the order God established.
• The man does not cover his head because he represents God’s authority in the earthly order.
• Christ already took away the shame that separated man from coming before God with boldness.

This isn’t about saying women are less valuable.

Both man and woman are made in God’s image.

The point is position and order, not value.

3. “If Any Man Seem to Be Contentious”

1 Corinthians 11:16

16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

• Paul already gave the argument.
• If somebody wants to fight against it, the churches of God don’t have another custom that replaces this order.
• This isn’t being presented as one random church’s tradition.

1 Corinthians 14:33

33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

• God is not about everybody doing whatever they want.
• There is order in God’s churches.
• The same basic order applies across “all churches of the saints.”

4. The Two Different Ways of Honoring the Order

For the man:

• He leaves his head uncovered.
• He is not showing himself as being under another visible earthly authority.
• He represents God’s authority in the order given to him.
• Christ is his head.

For the woman:

• She covers her head.
• The covering represents her accepting the authority God placed over her.
• It doesn’t matter whether she’s married or single—the order itself is bigger than marriage.
• The covering is a physical sign of accepting God’s order.

The head covering is presented as a visible sign of God’s order: the man honors his position by remaining uncovered, while the woman honors her position by covering her head. Her natural hair already points toward the idea of covering, but it does not erase the physical covering Paul discusses.